Israel Fires Warning Shots into Syria

By Emily SchneiderImpunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – For the first time since the Yom Kippur war in 1973, Israel has fired on Syrian forces. Israeli officials say they fired warning shots into Syria this weekend after a mortar round from Syria hit an Israeli vehicle in the Golan Heights.

Smoke rises after shells exploded in the Syrian village of Bariqa, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, near Alonei Habashan on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights November 7, 2012. (Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Baz Ratner)

Last week, the Israeli forces claimed that three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries. It was believed they were attacking rebel fighters in the area. Israel filed a complaint with the UN peacekeeping force and military chief of staff Benny Gantz visited the Golan Heights area in response. He warned the troops in the area to be on high alert and to make every effort to discourage the overflow of Syrian violence.

Activists in Syria near the Golan Heights have reported Syrian troop movement in the area in recent days. BBC Beirut correspondent Jim Muir likened the situation to that between Turkey and Syria at the border.

On Saturday, the IDF posted a statement on their website that said the mortar shell hit an IDF post in the Golan Heights adjacent to the Israel-Syria border, as part of the internal conflict inside Syria.” Although no damage or injuries were reported, “IDF soldiers fired warning shots towards Syrian areas” in response.

The mortar shot hit an Israeli outpost in the Golan Heights, an area that is currently occupied by Israel. The Golan Heights is a rocky area with strategic significance. Israel seized the area from Syria near the end of the Six Day War in 1967. Israel repelled an attack in 1973 by Syria, who was trying to regain the area.

Although Syria and Israel are still formally at war, they signed an armistice in 1974 and an UN force has patrolled the buffer zone since then. Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, but that annexation was not recognized internationally.

Following this latest incident, the Israel Defense Forces filed a complaint through the UN forces patrolling the buffer zone, stating that overflow of mortar fire from Syria into Israel and its occupied territory will not be tolerated and Israel “shall be responded to with severity.”

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, called for restraint from both countries on Sunday. Ban’s office said, “the Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the potential for escalation. He calls for the utmost restraint and urges Syria and Israel to uphold the Disengagement Agreement, respect their mutual obligations, and halt firing of any kind across the ceasefire line.”